History Series FAQs

Our answer is that HoK history is for parents aged 18 to 90. That may seem like a silly answer, but it’s true. Our materials are not grade-level specific because every family is different and every child is an individual. Rather than limiting a child to only learning X in X grade, our materials are designed to serve as an “all-in-one-place” reference tool for families to study history.

For parents of younger children (ages 5 to 8), we recommend that parents read the material themselves beforehand and decide what and how much of that information to present to their children.

From ages 9 to 12, parents can use the same set of books and go through the entire text together to help their child refresh their memory and learn more details.

Finally, from ages 13 to 18, students can once again use the same set of books to complete their own, independent study of history. They may choose to use only the texts themselves or to branch out and study certain portions in more depth.

2) How is HoK history different than other history curricula?

When studying history, there are two approaches usually found. These are as follows:

Secular with a little bit of Bible history thrown in

Biblical with a little bit of secular history thrown in

Unfortunately, many Christian history curricula (especially when dealing with ancient history) leave out large sections of historical information. You can see some examples of this yourself in the link found at the top of this page.

HoK is different because we start with the Bible as the absolute source of truth and use its time line as the framework in which to place the details of both Biblical and secular history. There is no skipping of topics or large sections of secular history as seen in other curricula. And while there are very good hands-on activities to drive home the lessons for each chapter, we do not follow a “liberal arts” approach to history. Instead, those who complete this series should be well-equipped to “give every man an answer” when it comes to the study of history.

3) Why did you write the HoK history series? Did you use it with your own children?

When we began homeschooling in 1994, the options for homeschool curricula were few and far between. Being the first generation to experience the rebirth of homeschool freedom, I did not have the confidence to develop my own materials and we decided to go with a traditional curriculum to educate our children. While good in many ways, this curriculum really did not cover history the way I would have preferred. However, it was all we knew and we used it for our children’s entire educational years.

When my last child graduated and I found myself staring future grandmotherhood in the face, I had a casual conversation with one of our children regarding their teaching of those future grandchildren. This child asked me to do some looking for a better history curriculum. I began my search – looking for something that would teach from a solid Biblical perspective, but still give all the details of secular history, too. I found nothing that met my criteria. When I reported this back to my child, the answer was a casual “Well, why don’t you write one?” I laughed and said I was not capable. However, the next day, God tapped me on my shoulder, just as he did Sarah, and asked me why I laughed. Needless to say, I began researching and writing soon after that conversation with God.

4) Can HoK history be customized in the sequence of presented information?

Of course! While written in chronological order, each chapter (and each book) is an independent study. This means that a parent could choose to do the chapters in a different order. For example, a parent may wish to cover all of history for a given region before moving on to a new region. To do that, they simply need to pull out the chapters whose titles cover the region they are interested in studying first. This can be done chapter by chapter or even book by book.

Think of each chapter (and each book) as a building block unit. You can stack and unstack them as you see fit and as best suits your family – knowing that all the information you need is there.

5) How can HoK’s FREE history time lines be used?

Parents are welcome to download any of our free time lines and use them as they see fit. Some ideas for use are as follows:

Print a gray-scale master copy and then another colored copy to cut up into pieces. Attach the colored pieces to the master copy as the time periods are studied.

Create a time line using a three-ring binder. Print the time line(s) of your choice and then cut them up to fit on different pages to be placed in the binder. (i.e. one page for every region or one page for every 200 years, etc.)

Build a time line on your wall using pieces of our expanded time lines along with figures and images from our Pinterest page.

6) What is the return policy for both digital and printed materials?

Because we self-publish and must use a third-party printer, we cannot offer any returns. (The printer offers returns on mis-printed or damaged products.) However, to make sure that parents are fully informed as to what to expect in our books BEFORE they order, we offer FREE, GENEROUSLY-SIZED samples of each text available on our website. We strongly encourage parents to download these samples and use them to conduct their own “test drive” of our materials before purchasing.

7) Is HoK history a traditional textbook or a unit study/spine resource?

Written in a chapter-by-chapter format with comprehension questions and activities at the end of each chapter, HoK history can definitely work as a traditional textbook to be used at home or in a co-op setting (each child must purchase their own copy for use in a co-op). However, because it is really designed to be an “all-in-one-place” reference tool, HoK history also makes the perfect resource for conducting unit studies. It can serve as the spine (guide) to what needs to be studied. Parents and students can branch out and study the topics of the chapters in multiple ways of their choosing.

8) Can parents skip the comprehension questions & activities?

Absolutely. Parents need not do any portion of the book they find unnecessary for their own children. After all, parents are the experts when it comes to educating their own children. Parents may add and subtract from the book as they see fit.

9) Where can I find more photos, crafts, and activities for HoK history?

Visit our PINTEREST page. Each book has two Pinterest pages dedicated to it. The first page deals with world history while the second page deals with American history. There are tons of extra photos we could not fit in our books and links to extra crafts and hands-on activities.

10) Should I purchase a digital copy or a printed copy?

The answer to this depends on your and your child’s preferences and habits. If you prefer printed books and your child likes to be able to have something in his hands, buy the printed copy. However, the digital copy works well for those who wish to use it on a computer or tablet for easy portability. There are a couple of benefits to the digital format: (1) Parents can save a master copy on a CD, (2) Parents can put copies of the book on multiple devices, (3) Students can zoom in on the photos and really get to see the details, and (4) a substantial savings in price.

11) Can I print multiple copies of my digital version for use in my own family?

Parents are given express permission to print (or photocopy) as many copies of their original version of the text for use in their own, immediate family. They may NOT share these copies with those outside their family. This means that parents are free to purchase a digital copy of the book and then either print multiple copies at home or even take it to a local printer and have multiple copies for their own use printed there. We at HoK do not believe in “nickel and diming”homeschool parents to death. We ourselves were once a single-income homeschooling family struggling to afford educational materials. We aim to provide a better experience for current homeschooling families.